Build energy-efficient stoves in Nicaragua while living in a rural community

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Program Overview
Life on the Program
Program Details
Volunteer Testimonials

Program Overview

Venture up to the northern rural communities of Nicaragua for a week to build an energy-efficient stove for poverty-stricken families.

While your stay will be short, your eco-friendly footprint will last over 20 years, the lifetime of the stove you build.

Phoenix, our in-country partner, has been operating throughout Latin America since 2003, and the location in Nicaragua since 2009. Their aim is to continue improving the quality of life for families by providing sound education and long-lasting stoves.

Life on the Program

This project is divided in two parts. The initial two days you will take a one-on-one Spanish course in Esteli, prior to meeting the community where you will spend the remaining days building your stove.

To build the stoves requires a level of physical work, so it is expected that volunteers are reasonably fit. Tasks to build the stove include helping the local mason mix cement, lift materials such as bricks and other duties associated with completing the stove on time.

The remainder of your time at the end of the day will be spent with your host family in Esteli, where you will be provided with basic but comfortable accommodation, allowing you to practice your Spanish and visit with other volunteers.

Program Details

Our in-country partners, Phoenix work with two rural communities just outside Esteli, where you will stay. The main goal of the program is to improve the quality of life for the families by way of reducing indoor smoke inhalation and pollution. You will achieve this goal by designing and constructing a stove that redirects the fumes and debris out of the house walls.

The ultimate goal is to ensure that all families who send their children to attend Phoenix schools will be equipped with a stove in time. To send a child to school is a sacrifice for these families, as it is one less form of income for them. By building the eco-efficient stove families are rewarded for providing their children with this opportunity.